Care Home Fees and Mental health team

[Joybelles]

We are trying to get my mum into a CH but she is unwilling to go.

The GP has been out and a team from Elderly Mental Health team to assess her, they have decided she needs to go into a home urgently.

Can somebody point out when you have to pay yourself and when the local authority step in - nothing to do with savings and self funding etc.

What is the mental health act and does this only apply if you are sectioned?

 

[Pickles53]

We are trying to get my mum into a CH but she is unwilling to go.

The GP has been out and a team from Elderly Mental Health team to assess her, they have decided she needs to go into a home urgently.

Can somebody point out when you have to pay yourself and when the local authority step in - nothing to do with savings and self funding etc.

What is the mental health act and does this only apply if you are sectioned?

Hi Joybelles and welcome to TP.

It's a complicated system, but it might help if you could give a bit more detail. You know already that if a person has assets above a certain level, they will in almost all circumstances have to self-fund their social care.

However, even if a person's assets are below the threshold, SS will not usually agree to funding a care home place long-term unless they are convinced (a) that the person's needs cannot be met any other way and (b) that the person either is willing to go into care or lacks mental capacity to make that decision.

Has there been a needs assessment by SS or are they willing to accept what the Elderly Mental Health Team says? Has your mum's mental capacity been assessed?

The Mental Capacity Act applies to everyone; that's the reason a person can't be made to go into care against their will unless it is considered they lack capacity to make that decision.

It may be that what is being proposed is a short-term respite period of care, or re-ablement, and the funding rules might be different. If the EMHT have not told you about who would be paying, I would ask them for clarification.

 

[Ronnianne]

We are trying to get my mum into a CH but she is unwilling to go.

The GP has been out and a team from Elderly Mental Health team to assess her, they have decided she needs to go into a home urgently.

Can somebody point out when you have to pay yourself and when the local authority step in - nothing to do with savings and self funding etc.

What is the mental health act and does this only apply if you are sectioned?

Hello Joybelles, not sure this will be any help, but 6 years ago when my MIL went into a home, as she had few savings and no house to sell (she was in sheltered accom) my husband and me had to undergo a financial assessment to see if we could help with financing her move. Eventually, it was decided that her pension, with some amount from the local council would fund her nursing home, with attendance allowance included. I'm not sure what the rules are now, but if a person has no assets, and the family can't help with costs, I'm fairly sure the local authority will help, but be prepared for quite a financial enquiry. Good luck

 

[dottyd]

Really surprised that you HAD to have a financial assessment.
As I understand it, no one is responsible for another persons debts with regard to care.

 

[Kevinl]

What is the mental health act and does this only apply if you are sectioned?

The government Mental Health Act 1983.
It allows for people to be "detained" in a suitable place (usually a hospital or assessment unit), under section 2 for 28 days the under section 3 for 6 months reviewed annually after that. Section 2 & 3 are the ones usually used with AZ, there are other sections of the act which can be used but they more relate to mental health and substance abuse issues where the expectation is that the condition can be treated and the person...if not "cured" can be stabilised and functioning again then return to society for want of a better way of putting it.
K

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/20/section/3

 

[LYN T]

Hello Joybelles, not sure this will be any help, but 6 years ago when my MIL went into a home, as she had few savings and no house to sell (she was in sheltered accom) my husband and me had to undergo a financial assessment to see if we could help with financing her move. Eventually, it was decided that her pension, with some amount from the local council would fund her nursing home, with attendance allowance included. I'm not sure what the rules are now, but if a person has no assets, and the family can't help with costs, I'm fairly sure the local authority will help, but be prepared for quite a financial enquiry. Good luck

I'm a bit confused with this. As dottyd writes no one is obliged to help with someone else's CH fees-it is purely voluntary. Also when there is ANY input from the local authority attendance allowance is stopped.

 

[Ronnianne]

Really surprised that you HAD to have a financial assessment.
As I understand it, no one is responsible for another persons debts with regard to care.

All I can say is, we went through a financial assessment, we didn't have POA, and MIL had been living in sheltered housing. We were made aware that we would be responsible for any top up fees that might occur, but luckily that wasn't the case. We did wonder about the assessment as both my OH and me were both retired, maybe we had wrong advice, but we didn't know anything about the system, still don't if I'm honest, conflicting advice everywhere

 

[Ronnianne]

I'm a bit confused with this. As dottyd writes no one is obliged to help with someone else's CH fees-it is purely voluntary. Also when there is ANY input from the local authority attendance allowance is stopped.

As far as we were aware, the attendance allowance went to the nursing home. Is that not right? As I said, we had no advice whatsoever.

 

[nitram]

Nobody has to agree to a top up fee even if the LA ask them to pay one.

If a top up fee is agreed the LA should check that the person paying the fee can afford it, therefore a financial assessment of that person is carried out.